For the Love of the Game
by GrimMoody
Summary: Based on my fav author, Dark-Elk. The story of a boy, his universe, and his game.
1. He is the Dark Elk

Chapter One: He is the Dark Elk  
  
A boy, the age of fourteen, followed his father into the forest. They were hunting. It was one of the few things they did together, considering the short leave time of Corporal Orlando Grey. The Confederate soldier had requested long ago that he be given leave during hunting season, so that the two could do more together.  
  
As for little Allen Grey, it was a time of learning and fun. He had always admired his father, and even sought to be just like him. Allen loved hunting, something he had done since he was six, and always looked forward to showing his mother the carcass of the elk he had shot.  
  
So there they were, father and son, going quietly through the trees, spying for elk. Orlando knew where they would find the creatures. Their habitat was not far away. After a bit of walking, Orlando stopped his son.  
  
"Allen," he said. "Let's set up here."  
  
The boy produced a strange contraption from his back while his father looked for a sturdy tree. Once a proper one was found, the Greys began to hook the machinery to it. It looked rather like a large bench, the color of the forest to camouflage those who sat on it. Over it stretched a flap of the green plastic, and on the side were several levers. They sat on the bench, holding their rifles on their laps.  
  
"Alright son, start pumping the handle."  
  
As Allen did, the bench rose up into the higher branches of the tree. Soon the hunters could see a great distance, including a small clearing in the woods, where an elk was likely to come.  
  
The Greys both sat silently as they waited. They were not disappointed, for quickly an elk appeared. It was not the ordinary color of its kind, but instead had a dark hide, so deep a shade that it was the color of deep space, and its underbelly was almost a deep enough brown to be black.  
  
The creature munched the coarse grass, oblivious of the hunters above. Allen stared at its strange, red eyes. He thought of how the creature could be made into a good coat, and raised his rifle. Orlando suddenly put out his hand.  
  
"Hold on a minute, Allen. Listen."  
  
And so he did. At first, he heard nothing, but then a slithering sound, as if a giant snake were crawling about in the forest leaves. The elk noticed it too, more curious than afraid.  
  
The creator of the sound soon appeared. It was a strange clawed creature, with terrible jaws and a drooling mouth. It slithered toward the elk, but then noticed the two in the tree. It gave a terrible roar, then started to spit acid spines at them.  
  
"Quick!" Orlando yelled. "Drop us now!"  
  
A lever was pulled, and their chair crashed onto the forest floor. Allen rolled away as his father began to shoot the creature. Before Allen could retrieve his fallen rifle, before his eyes Orlando was hit in the chest.  
  
"Dad!"  
  
"Waste him, boy, before he gets you too!"  
  
The beast was already injured, but quickly coming toward him. Allen dodged its next spines, then managed to shoot at the creature's head. Again and again Allen shot at it, but it would not stop. Allen cursed, for he had no more ammo. Suddenly, as if it had noticed something, the creature left hurriedly.  
  
Allen immediately turned to his father. Orlando could hardly breathe, as much of his chest had been burned through with the acid.  
  
"Dad, can you hear me? It's going to be okay, everything's gonna be fine. I'll call mom. I'm calling her now..."  
  
He picked up his moble phone and began to call, until he heard again the snarl of the beast. It sounded as if it was dying. And it was.  
  
Allen saw in the distance an elite soldier, something he had only heard of in rumors. Yes, it was a Ghost. Fearfully, Allen fled back behind a tree, hoping he was not seen.  
  
Apparently he was not. The Ghost, after killing the nasty creature, was investigating the area. He saw the seating contraption, and Allen's injured father. The soldier gave his father a curious look.  
  
Orlando said, weakly, "Help me....please..."  
  
The Ghost was silent. And so was his gun when he pulled it out and shot Orlando Grey. Allen, horrified, stared at the heartless Ghost. The Ghost suddenly lifted his head, and looked in Allen's direction. The boy was up and running.  
  
--------  
  
"Mom, Mom!" Allen cried out as he burst through the backdoor of his home. "Dad got shot by a Ghost!"  
  
Renate Grey turned pale, but maintained her composture. "Alright son, what happened?"  
  
So Allen told the story, constantly being told by his mother to calm down and enunciate as he did. When he finished, Renate grabbed her boots.  
  
"Come on, let's get over there."  
  
--------  
  
They drove through the woods in Renate's SUV, slowing only when they came to the clearance. They jumped out of the car to find....nothing. Orlando was nowhere to be found. The strange beast was gone as well. The wreck of the seating contraption had disappeared, and no marks of its crash were left in the ground. It was as if the morning's events had never happened.  
  
Except that Allen's father was gone, never to return.  
  
Renate cursed inwardly. "I should have known..."  
  
"Should have known what, Mom?"  
  
"Oh--nothing. We have to get out of here."  
  
"But Mom, what about Dad..."  
  
"Allen," Renate said strictly. "get in the car NOW."  
  
They both did, and Allen was wary. Through most of the drive home, his mother stared icily at the dirt road, but driving surprisingly well for her upset state. As they approached the house, Renate seemed to realize something, and stopped the car.  
  
"Alright Allen, you didn't go hunting with your father today."  
  
"But.."  
  
"No Allen, you spent the night at Cooter's house, and you're not expected home until tonight. Late tonight. Now go to Cooter's house. I'll call later, come home then. Not any time sooner, okay? And don't call me. I'll talk to you later. Now go, GO!"  
  
Allen got out of the car and started for Cooter's.  
  
"Run, Allen!"  
  
And he ran. But Cooter's house was at least a mile away, and Allen was in no mood to run all of the distance. He stopped, as he once again met with the forest path. Allen was on the verge of crying, as he went through the trees. But he didn't, because his father had always told him not to.  
  
"Never cry, Allen; it's just a delay between you and reality." the boy remembered.  
  
As he was coming closer to Cooter's, he heard a sound. It was a sound that his father had taught him to hear years ago. The sound of elk.  
  
Allen turned to see the same dark elk that had been in the forest that morning. It had gone from the terrible scene without notice, and it had found him again. The boy had no desire to shoot it, and he couldn't anyway; he had brought his rifle home and left it there.  
  
He stared at the elk, suddenly noticing something shiny hanging from its mouth. Allen slowly approached the woodland creature, trying to see what it was. It was a chained pair of dog tags, his father's. The elk took a step towards him, as if he wanted Allen to have them. The boy took them.  
  
Allen observed the elk; it was larger than he first expected. For some reason, he slowly put out his hand to stroke its nose. The creature didn't seem to mind this.  
  
"Hey Al, what are you doing?"  
  
The elk fled as Allen turned around to see his friend Cooter, who was grinning.  
  
"Well, isn't that cute. Little Allen made a friend."  
  
"Man, shut up."  
  
George "Cooter" Jones knew from his tone that something was wrong. "Hey, what happened?"  
  
"I probably shouldn't tell you, but if you can keep your mouth shut, I will."  
  
So Allen told Cooter of the morning's events. The friend shook his head.  
  
"Man, that's rough. Your old man was pretty cool. Well, you can stay at my house awhile, if you need to. Let's go in and play some Warcraft on the net."  
  
Allen looked at Cooter incredulously. "How can you think of Warcraft at a time like this?"  
  
"Something's gotta take your mind off your dad. Come on, there's this new guy on the net, calling himself Dernhelm and saying he can really kick butt. Maybe he's on, and we can teach him a lesson."  
  
Thus the boys went inside, not seeming to realize that an observer was watching their every move.  
  
--------  
  
The observer belonged to Judicator Dendra. As she was ordered, she was studying the recently discovered humans, a field she found very interesting. When she saw the boys go in, she shook her head, saying, "Humans are so futile."  
  
But she was glad to hear that they would be playing Warcraft on the net. For not only humans liked to play the ancient game by Blizzard Software. She immediately turned to a different computer, and connected to the internet, making sure that her signal would not be traced. Dendra logged on as Dernhelm76.  
  
"They shall not find it so easy to teach me a lesson." she observed with a smile.  
  
--------  
  
Back at the Grey household, Renate Grey, Confederate Ghost #981054, was stonily calm. She expected the Ghost director, Raymond Sapphire, to come at any moment.  
  
"Sapphire. What kind of name is that for a guy?" Renate thought, disgustedly.  
  
She hated Sapphire, because he was an annoying, arrogant sap. And what's more, he had once loved Renate. But since she had chosen Orlando over him, he became bitter. The marriage to Orlando had been a bit strange, because rarely were Ghosts allowed such privilges. But for one reason or another, the Confederate government had allowed it. Perhaps in the hope that their offspring would be psionic. Fortunately, this was not so, at least not yet. In the time of Allen's life, Renate kept her psionic powers hidden, so that he might never know, and never have to worry for his life.  
  
Though Sapphire himself was not psionic, he would doubtless have another Ghost with him. Renate began to concentrate on hiding the memories of Allen's tale, and replacing them with her concocted story. The Confederacy wanted no one to know about the Zerg experiments, and she must not let Sapphire know Allen was there, or he could face possible death. Renate continued to work in her new "memories" until she detected the psionic field of another Ghost.  
  
A knock sounded on the door, and Renate opened to Raymond Sapphire and Ghost #673401, only known as Chaos.  
  
Renate immediately said, "Where is my husband, Sapphire?"  
  
He smiled and sat on the couch. "Not one to mince words, eh? Well, I'm afraid he has stumbled upon something quite beyond himself. Chaos will explain."  
  
A deep, hissing voice began, "Orlando found our escaped hydralisk. His hunting rifle was no match for the beast. When I found him, the acid spores had already burned through his chest; he was dead. I cleaned up the area."  
  
"You're lying!" Renate accused. "Don't play games with me, Chaos. You know I can detect your falsehoods."  
  
Chaos did not respond. Sapphire, after a pause, spoke once more.  
  
"Yet, there is still one problem. Doesn't your husband typically hunt with your son?"  
  
"Not this time."  
  
"But didn't Orlando request that specific time for leave, so that they could hunt?"  
  
"Yes, but Allen went to a friend's house to work on a school project. He spent the night, and won't be coming back until tonight."  
  
"I see." Sapphire went over to Renate and tried to be sympathetic. "I am sorry, but this had to be done. You know that this project must be hidden from the public. I hope you can work for us still."  
  
"The mission is more important than the people." Renate said, in a stern, Ghost-like manner.  
  
"Good. I shall see you tomorrow then. Tell your son that his father died before he could come for leave."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Sapphire exited. Chaos followed, looking back suspiciously at Renate. If Renate had lost control, Chaos would never have lived to step across the threshold. But no, this mother had a boy to protect, and she could let nothing happen that could hurt him later in life. Chaos left.  
  
Renate, after a minute, collapsed on the couch, crying.  
  
--------  
  
Judicator Dendra had been playing online for two hours, finally beating the boys. They began to talk in a chatroom.  
  
-Dernhelm76-so you still think you can beat me?  
  
-phatman64-dang  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-got us good  
  
-Dernhelm76-don't use dark elves  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-yeah, why you do that?  
  
-phatman64-i'm usually better  
  
-phatman64-distracted i guess  
  
-Dernhelm76-why?  
  
-phatman64-family stug  
  
-phatman64-stug=stuff  
  
Suddenly Dendra was interrupted by the entrance of another Judicator, Aldaris.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked. "Warcraft? You still persist in playing that ridiculous game?"  
  
"It can be quite...entertaining."  
  
"Entertaining or not, it is time for us to go before the Conclave. Have you completed your reports?"  
  
Dendra handed them to him as she typed goodbye to Cooter and Allen.  
  
-Dernhelm76-gtg  
  
-Dernhelm76-dad says i have to get off  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-bummer  
  
-Dernhelm76-homework time  
  
-phatman64-bye helm  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-see you tomorrow  
  
-Dernhelm76-maybe, bye  
  
_Dernhelm76 has left the chatroom_  
  
Aldaris noticed the web names. "Who are they? And why do you call yourself Dernhelm?"  
  
"They are two of my subjects, Allen Grey and George Jones. Dernhelm is the alias of a character in a popular Terran fantasy book. I thought it would make myself more friendly to other Warcraft players."  
  
Aldaris shook his head. "What reason could you possibly have for interacting with the Terrans like this?"  
  
"It is an educational experience, helping me realise the finer points of Terran battle strategies. Would you restrict me from playing?"  
  
"No, as long as you complete your assignments, I do not mind. If you deem it necessary to play."  
  
--------  
  
Four years passed, and Allen Grey had gone through high school. Throughout those years, he had become more sullen and introverted, his only true friend being Cooter, and to some extent, Dernhelm76. And his newfound care for nature resulted in his nickname "Dark Elk". This didn't bother Allen. He actually began to like it; he even changed his web name to Dark Elk. Soon he was called Allen only by his mother and Dark Elk by everyone else, including his teachers. 


	2. Warped Lies Lead to Warped Lives

In case I didn't say it before, I don't own Starcraft.  
  
Online were two of the friends-  
  
-Dernhelm76-wheres elk?  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-dunno  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-chillin w/new friends  
  
-Dernhelm76-who?  
  
-Dernhelm76-that Gary guy?  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-yea  
  
-Dernhelm76-i wish he'd come on  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-yea  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-i guess the games not important  
  
_DarkElk has entered chatroom_  
  
-Dernhelm76-hey elk  
  
-DarkElk-hi  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-where you been?  
  
-DarkElk-places  
  
-UbeRTankEr-where man  
  
-DarkElk-it doesnt matter  
  
-UbeRTAnkEr-sure does  
  
-Dernhelm76-hey  
  
-Dernhelm76-we gonna play or what?  
  
*5...4...3...2...Game Started*  
  
--------  
  
Renate had been given a new assignment. She was to infiltrate the site of a possible Terran Dominion rebellion. Essentially, some youths had been influenced by Dominion propaganda, and they were going to meet with a spy. Renate's orders were to destroy all of them. It would be quickly done, as she had done similar things before. In less than an hour, those kids would be dead. A typical job, usually considered boring.  
  
She saw them gathering in an old, abandoned building. With patience, she watched them, waiting to see which one would stand out as a leader. Less than a minute had passed when she noticed a white haired boy directing the group. She smiled. It was not a professional operation. The youths went inside, leaving a few boys as lookouts.  
  
Renate cloaked and crept behind those boys, knife in hand. They were dead before they could give even a whimper. She closed in on a large room, where the others were gathered. Their leader was spouting some Dominion propaganda, and Renate paid it little heed, instead preparing to plant a bomb nearby.  
  
She leaned over the orb of destruction, setting its controls to five minutes. She looked up just before she placed it; she saw her son sitting on the side of the room.  
  
"What is he doing here?" Renate thought.  
  
Something had to be done. Renate checked her cloak's mana level. It was running low. She would have to be quick, whatever she did. But then her thoughts returned to something she had said before, almost a motto of the Ghosts, "the mission is more important than the people".  
  
Renate controlled her doubts, and once again forced herself to turn on the destructive machine. She was about to push the last button to set off the timer when she stopped.  
  
"I can't do this."  
  
Suddenly she found herself falling to the floor. Renate turned to see one of the youths, an escaped psionic, preparing to kick her again.  
  
"Run, everybody!" he yelled. "There's a Ghost!"  
  
Most of the youths hastily exited, while a few gathered around to fight the intruder. Renate found most of them to be rather easy opponents, and they soon lay dead on the floor. The psionic boy approached her. A bullet soon found its way into his head.  
  
"Gary!" a voice resounded. Renate was flung back by another, crashing straight into a wall. She brushed away the fallen hair from her face as she rose.  
  
"Mom? You're...a Ghost?"  
  
The two stared at each other for a second, then Renate got control of herself.  
  
"Come on, Allen. Let's go home."  
  
She passed by him, but he failed to follow, just staring at the beast he called 'mom'. Renate grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The ride home was completely silent.  
  
--------  
  
Allen was scared. In all of his eighteen years he had never been scared like this.  
  
"My mom is a Ghost..." he thought.  
  
This did not go by undetected by the mother, but she remained silent as they entered their house.  
  
"We need to talk, son."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you were a Ghost?" Allen burst out. "Why?!"  
  
"I knew all of the rumors about the Ghost project. I didn't want you to think that I was something to be feared."  
  
Suddenly Allen started. "You knew about dad. You had him killed!"  
  
Renate shook him. "That is not true! You know it isn't!"  
  
"Let go of me!"  
  
Another thought formed in Allen's mind. Renate sensed it, and heard the door opening. Renate had forgotten that Cooter was supposed to come over tonight.  
  
"Hey, y'all, what's going...on.."  
  
"D*** it, Cooter, don't you ever knock?" Renate stormed away.  
  
"Your mom is a Ghost?" was the last thing she heard as she made her way to her room.  
  
Renate lay down on her bed, clearing her thoughts as Ghosts had been trained to do. But one thought, not her own, popped up. It was Chaos.  
  
"I know what happened at the wharehouse. You failed."  
  
"Yes, there was a psionic boy there, and he detected me."  
  
"The young ones detect only overt thought patterns. Couldn't you keep your mind quiet?"  
  
"There are no excuses."  
  
"Very well. But I have trouble trusting you. There is significant evidence that your son has recently been participating in Dominion activities. You must terminate him. This shall be the test of your loyalty to our program. And destroy the Jones boy as well."  
  
"By your orders?"  
  
"By Sapphire's."  
  
Renate got up, took her gun, and went to the living room, where the boys were talking. She stayed away in the shadows, and aimed the rifle at Allen. But she did not shoot.  
  
Why was she doing this? She already lost her husband, and now she must lose her son. Yet what would be the point of life once he was gone? The Confederacy had ruined her life, and it was no pleasure to serve this government. She lowered the rifle.  
  
"Get in the car. Both of you."  
  
--------  
  
Raymond Sapphire watched as Chaos mentally conversed with Renate Grey. The two were in his office, going over the evidence damning Renate's son.  
  
"She has received her orders, Sapphire," said Chaos as he finished. "though I doubt she will follow them."  
  
"I had expected as much. She loves nothing as much as she loves her son. It is truly a pity such a lovely thing must be destroyed." Sapphire turned towards his Ghost. "Also terminate the boys. Oh, and get George's parents while you are at it. I don't need them to suspect where their son could have gone."  
  
"Orders acknowledged."  
  
--------  
  
"I know where we can go." Allen said as the three drove. "Yates can get us to the Dominion."  
  
"Todd Yates?" Cooter said incredulously. "You know him? Dang, Elk, he's like a major rebel."  
  
"How do we find him?" asked Renate.  
  
"He's not far. First, turn left up ahead."  
  
--------  
  
The car parked near a field of grass, obviously uninhabited. They got out. Allen pulled his overshirt tight, regretting that he didn't bring a jacket.  
  
"Hey Elk, are you sure this is the place?" Cooter asked.  
  
"It is."  
  
"Then where's Yates?"  
  
"He should be around here somewhere..."  
  
"Hey, Elk. What brings you down here?"  
  
Everyone turned to see a short man. He was athletic, and the small fringe of hair that was left on his bald head shined a pale blonde.  
  
He jerked his thumb at Renate. "Who's the ghost?"  
  
"That's my mom. We all need to get out of here; the Confederates are after us."  
  
Yates grinned. "You've been caught, huh? Well, y'all c'mon to the craft. It just so happens, we're gonna be taking some others. It's just over there, hid in the trees, all ready to go. Y'all got lucky today."  
  
Suddenly Renate started. "Chaos is here. I can feel him-"  
  
"S***, y'all follow me!"  
  
They ran quickly to the shelter of the trees. Yates yelled to the craft's pilot, "Hey Jackson, get ready to go, man! Engage the engines!"  
  
"Shut up!" Renate hissed. "You don't want him to hear you."  
  
"Where is this guy anyway?"  
  
Renate paused, sensing. "He doesn't see us yet, but he will in a matter of seconds--oh crap."  
  
They entered the ship, watching through a window as Chaos suddenly got into a strange postion.  
  
"What is he, crazy?" exclaimed Renate. "He's starting a nuclear launch!"  
  
"No, he's not!" Allen yelled as he ran off of the craft, just as the doors were closing. He ran up to the Ghost and grabbed his rifle, pulling at it with all his might. He succeeded, because this interrupted the nuclear sequence. He failed, because he had no chance against the Ghost. Chaos flung the boy to the ground and smashed him in the head with the butt of his rifle. Allen Grey was out before he could notice that the vessel escaped, and his mom and friend were safe.  
  
--------  
  
A young adult was contained in a stasis cell, in some sort of science facility. He heard, but did not comprehend, a cold, robotic feminine voice say, "Resocialization process complete".  
  
The stasis cell opened, and out emerged the youth. He was greeted by two doctors.  
  
"How do you feel today?"  
  
"Okay, I guess."  
  
"Good. Now, do you remember who you were?"  
  
"I was called...Dark Elk."  
  
"You don't remember your name?"  
  
"I am Dark Elk, and nothing else."  
  
One doctor turned to the other. "Eriks, what's wrong with his mind?"  
  
The second smiled. "Robinson, you know that these subjects tend to have memory loss. But otherwise his mind is fine. He should be ready to go off into basic training tomorrow."  
  
"Even though he thinks he's an animal?"  
  
"Yeah, they should understand that the process changes people. I once sent them a guy who thought he was some guy called Napoleon Bonapart, something like that."  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
"He recovered. You would know him as Edmund Duke." 


	3. State of Faliure

Once more, Starcraft is not mine. If it was, I'd be rich by now.  
  
--------  
  
-DarkElk-you lose  
  
-Dernhelm76-no!  
  
-DarkElk-hehe  
  
-DarkElk-i invited noobs  
  
-Dernhelm76-k  
  
_carnage2 has entered the chatroom_  
  
-Dernhelm76-we'll win  
  
-carnage2-what?  
  
-carnage2-i don't think so  
  
_Madhamster has entered the chatroom_  
  
-Madhamster-hi all!  
  
-DarkElk-lets get started  
  
-DarkElk-2v2  
  
-carnage2-k  
  
-Madhamster-okay  
  
*5..4..3..2..Game Started*  
  
--------  
  
Judicator Dendra, as Dernhelm76, was deeply ingrossed in the game of Warcraft with Dark Elk. The newbies had proved more difficult than they thought, but they were beginning to make headway. Unnoticed, Aldaris entered the room, watching Dendra play. She cursed as carnage2 destroyed her group of knights.  
  
"Not doing so well against the Terrans?"  
  
Dendra turned to see the Judicator, then with annoyance turned back to the screen. "It is merely a minor setback."  
  
"Some call would your dedication to this game an obsession."  
  
Dendra sighed. "What is it, Aldaris?"  
  
"I require your full attention."  
  
She turned to him. "Just allow me finish..."  
  
Aldaris gave a very communicative blink. Dendra turned completely away from the monitor.  
  
"Good. Now if you haven't forgotten here in the real world we must deal with the infested Terran colonies. The Conclave has made its decision."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"As soon as we can reach it, Chau Sara and other specified places must be purged. You will go with Executor Tassadar, who is commanding the endeavor. Prepare yourself, for you leave the day after tomorrow."  
  
"Very well."  
  
"One more thing. It has been decided that you spend too much time on this 'Warcraft'. From this point forward, you must not play it. You may not finish your current game."  
  
Dendra sighed and got out of the game.  
  
--------  
  
_Dernhelm76 has left the game_  
  
"What?" Dark Elk exclaimed. He struggled, but alone he lost. Elk couldn't believe he wasted his limited internet time getting smashed by newbies.  
  
It was one of the disadvantages of being a Confederate marine. He had very little time to do anything, including things like taking a shower and sleeping. But Elk enjoyed the excitement of fighting. It was the reason he enlisted in the first place.  
  
Not that he remembered. Since three months ago, when he came out of resocialization, all Elk knew was his name, and that he liked to play Warcraft. And of course he remembered Dernhelm. At night in his bunker, he would sometimes try to think if he had a family. His mind came up with nothing but blanks. But a family didn't matter to him much; he was just curious.  
  
Dark Elk arose from the computer, removing his internet card. It was about time he got some sleep anyway. He looked at the bunker's clock. 12:31.  
  
"Hmm. I didn't stay up so late tonight," he thought. "thanks to that traitor. She probably had something to do, I guess. I'll find out later."  
  
He sank into his bed, succumbing to slumber.  
  
--------  
  
It was morning, and Dark Elk's unit was nearing a Terran Dominion base with orders to destroy it. This was Elk's first major operation. He was confident in his abilities, and this would be where he would prove his worth.  
  
The unit halted for a moment, to wait for air support. The marines and firebats stayed silent as they stood. Soon the commands came through: charge.  
  
The soldier ran forward, first destroying the outward bunkers and missle turrets. As one bunker exploded, Elk fired rapidly at the firebats inside. They fell, causing minimal damage to their killer. Elk headed for another bunker.  
  
A shot whizzed past him. He turned to see an enemy goliath blasting at his unit. Elk remembered his training; he ran straight to its legs and ripped at a piece of the machinery. The goliath soon found that its fuel line was cut, and fell to the ground. The resulting explosion shook the base, and Elk barely managed to escape its force.  
  
The Confederate forces had forged a path through the base going all the way through to the main command center. Elk's unit and another of reinforcements made their way inside. The soldiers became separated as they traversed the halls. Dark Elk soon found himself all alone. He paused, listening for signs of enemy units.  
  
Suddenly he was flung to the ground. A renegade ghost had kicked him across the floor. As she pulled up her gun to shoot Elk, he turned around.  
  
Upon seeing his face, the ghost's face expressed shock. "Allen!" she cried out.  
  
This gave Dark Elk enough time to bring up his machine gun and shoot the ghost. She fell, blood seeping from her ruined body. Elk rose, glad to have been service to his authority. He turned to continue in the battle, but suddenly found himself unwilling.  
  
"Allen...you must remember..." he heard in his mind. "....remember...don't you-"  
  
A gunshot interrupted the thoughts. Elk turned to see another ghost standing over the body of the other. This one Elk did not shoot; this one was a Confederate, Chaos.  
  
Chaos gave a grim smile. "You have to make sure they're dead. But good job, for a first-timer. We've been looking for this one."  
  
"Who was she?"  
  
"Renate Grey." The ghost looked strangely at Elk. "You didn't know?"  
  
"Well, I don't really look at the suspect files. I guess I should."  
  
The two went off to finish the battle, leaving corpse of Elk's mother behind. 


End file.
